Indian cities, too, have only handfuls of gay-friendly bars, and members of the LGBT community say the country’s conservative views on marriage and family keep many of them in the closet. In China, apart from Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai - in smaller cities, and in the countryside - you can’t find any gay organizations or gay bars whatsoever.” “In America, if you don’t use Grindr, you can go to a gay bar. “Blued is more important for Chinese people than Grindr is for Americans,” said Sun Mo, 25, a media operations manager at the Beijing LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) Center. Half its users are between 18 and 25 years old. Blued has attracted 22 million gay male users, accounting for about 85% of China’s gay dating app market, the company wrote in a 2015 report. That position is held by Blued, a homegrown start-up founded by an ex-policeman, Ma Baoli, in 2012. Grindr is far from China’s most popular gay dating app. See more of our top stories on Facebook > values Grindr, founded in 2009, at $155 million.Ĭompany founder and Chief Executive Joel Simkhai said the sale would allow Grindr to accelerate the growth of “the largest network for gay men in the world.” The deal with Beijing Kunlun World Wide Technology Co. Grindr’s international appeal is in the spotlight following the announcement Monday that a Chinese gaming company had purchased a majority stake the Hollywood start-up for $93 million. As in many other Asian countries where homosexuality is outlawed or taboo, Grindr and similar apps have opened up a new digital frontier for gays but also raised concerns about privacy, safety and government clampdowns. “Everybody from the gay community is using Grindr,” Inder Vhatwar, a Mumbai fashion entrepreneur, said of the dating app geared toward gay men.ĭespite a national law banning same-sex intercourse, tens of thousands of gay Indians use Grindr for social networking, dating and, yes, sex.
Within the quietly thriving gay scene in India’s entertainment and financial capital, one thing appears to be common.